4 . China State Railway Group has recently implemented a new schedule for freight train services between China and Europe, with the aim of ensuring more stable transport times, improving efficiency, and boosting trade between Asia and Europe. The enhanced schedule includes five scheduled weekly freight train services operating along specific routes, enabling accurate determination of transport times between cities. For example, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, a freight train departs from Xi’an, China, to Duisburg, Germany, and returns to Xi’an on Tuesdays. Similarly, on Saturdays, a freight train leaves Chengdu, China, for Lodz, Poland, with the return journey departing every Thursday.

Unlike regular China-Europe freight trains, the new service features fixed carriages, routes, shifts, and set schedules for all sections of the routes, which ensures better control over operation times and improved efficiency. This enhanced schedule has reduced travel time by about 30 percent on average compared to other China-Europe freight trains, providing customers with quicker delivery of goods. Moreover, with fixed schedules and improved efficiency, the new service enhances service quality, ensuring more reliable and timely transportation.

Stable transport times offered by the enhanced schedule support the stability of global industrial and supply chains, facilitating smoother international trade. Looking ahead, China State Railway Group plans to develop more routes with set schedules to further improve the quality of China-Europe freight train services, strengthening the role of freight trains as a reliable alternative to sea and air shipping and supporting the smooth operation of international industrial supply chains.

In conclusion, the enhanced schedule of China-Europe freight trains represents a significant step forward in improving efficiency and reliability in international freight transportation, contributing to the stability and prosperity of global trade.

1. According to the passage, how many days does it take for a freight train to travel from Xi’an to Duisburg and return?

A．Four days.

B．Five days.

C．Six days.

D．Seven days.

2. What measures did China State Railway Group take to improve the efficiency and service quality of China-Europe freight trains?

A．Reducing the frequency of train departures.

B．Regularly adjusting transport routes.

C．Implementing fixed carriages, routes, and schedules.

D．Increasing the speed of freight trains.

3. What might be the future plan of China State Railway Group regarding freight train services?

A．To reduce the number of routes.

B．To increase the speed of trains.

C．To expand services to more countries.

D．To replace sea and air shipping completely.

6 . On Feb. 21, four students were standing on the side of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu when a driver going 110 miles per hour lost control of his car and it crashed into the parked vehicles.12 people were killed at the scene, including 2 drivers.

This kind of traffic death shouldn’t be called an accident. In Los Angeles, we seem to have accepted constant carnage (屠杀) in our streets in exchange for maximizing driver speed and convenience. The official responses to proven traffic dangers are mere gestures, if even that.

Los Angeles is a uniquely deadly city with a death rate that is four times the national average. Unsurprisingly, it’s also a city that has been designed with one thing in mind: a concept called level of service, which grades streets on how well they serve those in automobiles. To many Angelenos, that makes sense — to design our streets for car traffic, which is the way many get around the city. Unfortunately, we don’t recognize that there’s a trade-off. We can either have streets bettered for free-flowing traffic, or we can design streets for people to move around safely outside of cars.

City leaders consistently choose for the easy but deadly option. In one recent example, a resident asked the city’s Department of Transportation to block drivers from using Cochran Avenue at Venice Boulevard as a cut-through street, as they were speeding through a quiet residential neighbourhood. The department responded by suggesting a “speed awareness campaign” in which neighbours put up yard signs urging drivers to slow down.

People don’t drive based on signage, but they drive on the design of the street. The trunk roads of Los Angeles such as Venice Boulevard all need to be revised so that people are prioritized over cars. This would include narrowing travel lanes (道), building bike lanes, and banning right turns at red lights. These measures would make drivers feel like they’re in a city and not on a highway. A recent John Hopkins study says this would have substantial safety benefits.

With more than 7,500 miles of streets in the city of Los Angeles, they won’t all be rebuilt anytime soon. But with each road construction project, or each crash, we should be revising streets to make them safer for all road users.

The solution to traffic jam isn’t to make more space for cars. It’s to design the streets to be safe enough for alternatives such as biking, walking and mass transit, especially for the 50% of trips daily in Los Angeles that are less than three miles. The solution to protecting people dining outdoors isn’t crash barriers. It’s a street design that forces drivers to go slowly. The problem is carnage in the streets, and we know the solutions.

1. Why should the traffic death in Los Angeles be called “constant carnage”?

A．The traffic accidents happen quite often.

B．Too many people are killed in the traffic accidents.

C．The drivers’ speeding is to blame for the traffic death.

D．City leaders’ consistent choice contributes to the traffic death.

2. What does the word “trade-off” underlined in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A．Balance.

B．Guideline.

C．Conflict.

D．Resolution.

3. According to the passage, which is a likely solution to the traffic problem?

A．To widen travel lanes.	B．To add more crosswalks.
C．To arrange more traffic police.	D．To punish speeding drivers.

4. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Drivers first or walkers first?	B．Traffic death or constant carnage?
C．More warning signs or safer designs?	D．More narrow lanes or speedy highways?

9 . Every evening, my journey begins with a one-stop hop from Victoria Station to Clapham Junction, where I catch the main ___________ home. One evening, I was standing in the crowd when I noticed the rows of ___________ seats in First Class, and a ___________ thought occurred to me. In all my time commuting, I had never seen the ___________ come around. Why didn’t I just ___________ it? I slipped into First Class.

The atmosphere was nice and the seats were ___________. The doors opened and a woman entered the carriage on crutches (拐杖). She settled herself in one of the seats. I should have known what would happen next. “Tickets, please.”

There was ___________ to run. In my haste I had taken a seat by the door, and I was the _________ passenger the inspector turned to. I had no choice but to ___________ my rail pass.

“That’s not a first class ticket,” he said.

My ____________ went blank. Before I could answer, the woman with the bad leg cut in.

“I was told I could sit in First Class,” she said ____________.

The man ____________ and gazed at her.

“Then whoever the person was, he gave you the bad advice,” said the inspector.

While their ____________ went on, I grabbed my bag and slipped out of the carriage into the Standard Class. I pushed into the crowd, then, using a ____________ I had picked up from a spy film, removed my coat to disguise my appearance. When I ____________ at Clapham Junction, the poor woman with the bad leg was on the edge of tears.

1.

A．bus

B．line

C．station

D．road

2.

A．empty

B．new

C．hard

D．full

3.

A．simple

B．strange

C．bad

D．strong

4.

A．waiter

B．driver

C．inspector

D．passenger

5.

A．go through

B．go for

C．go across

D．go after

6.

A．comfortable

B．narrow

C．smooth

D．straight

7.

A．somewhere

B．nowhere

C．everywhere

D．anywhere

8.

A．second

B．first

C．next

D．last

9.

A．hide

B．take

C．lend

D．produce

10.

A．ears

B．eyes

C．heart

D．mind

11.

A．anxiously

B．coldly

C．sadly

D．excitedly

12.

A．worried

B．turned

C．passed

D．smiled

13.

A．argument

B．translation

C．discussion

D．business

14.

A．technique

B．magic

C．method

D．trick

15.

A．got off

B．got on

C．pulled up

D．pulled down